Device fob conditioning air



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Nov. 19, 1935. F.A,WH|TELEY DEVICE FOR CONDITIONING AIR Original FiledSept. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2` Nr.3. o 0

Il... i Ilmla 4 mental Nov. 1s, 193s aArENrioBr-ica 13 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and device for conditioning air inrooms, and has for its object to provide a simple and eillcient devicefor concealed installation in the wall of a room between the studding,which by means of connections with cooling and heating devices in thebasement, may be alternately'operated to furnish Warm moist air to aroom in winter during cold weather, and cold dry air in summer or duringhot weather.

It is one object of my invention to provide a method of conditioning airin rooms which consists in removing a portion of the wall of the roomthrough at least one face thereof. to form a recessed channel thereinextending vertically from a. point at or near the floor to a point ator.

near the ceiling, introducing a casing into said recess vof likevertical extent having openings into the room at the top and bottomthereof, forming an insulating cover to a wall of said casing having itssurface in the plane of the wall of the room and decorating the same soas to conceal said casing, causing air to entm' at one opening and movethrough the casing to discharge through .the other opening, andconditioning the air as it is moved. It is an object of my invention toprovide an air conditioning device for the purpose stated having upperand lower openings therein, together with means for alternatelycirculating air to cause it to enter through the lower opening anddischarge from the upper opening, or to enter through the upper openingand discharge through the low opening.

'Ihe full objects and advantages of my invention 1 will appearinconnection withthedetailed description thereof, and the novel featuresoi my Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation view similar to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa sectional plan view online 3-3 ofY Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional planview on line .4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation 1 ofthe central portion of the air conditioning device adjacent the blowermechanism. Fig. 6 is a similar view taken at the lower end of the airconditioner. Fig. 7 is a side sectional view of a portion of one of theheatexchangers showing the oblique or downward trendof the tubes'connect` ing the headers.

My invention embodies a casing preferably-of Device Fon coNm'rroNmG amFrank A. Whlteley, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application september 11, 1931, sei-1.1 No. 562,243 Renewed January 4,1934 secured aplate 2l of some type of insulating ma 10- terial. The boxis adapted to be slipped between two studdings 2i and 22 forming asupport in the wall and'is secured permanently in place by nails,

screws or other fastening members indicated at 23 which enter thestudding members 2l and 22 and l5 which bring the face of the plate 20even with the face of the plaster 2l, so that Vcanvas and paperindicated at 25 may entirely conceal the joint 26 where the plaster hasbeen cut away.

Within vthe casing above described .are per- 20 manently positioned heatexchangers made according to the process of my co-pending application,Serial Number 545,940 iiled June 22, 1931, embodying headers 26 and 21of generally rectangular cross section, iln plates 28 and connect- 25ing tubes 29, the tubes being fused into the iin plates and integratedto the headers into which they open, in accordance `with the principlesof `said process application, excepting that in the present 'inventionthe tubes 29 do not extend be- 30 tween and at right angles to theheaders 2i' and 21, but, rather extend obliquely between said headers sothat all of said tubes have a downward slant from'the headers 28' to theheaders 21. as clearly shown in Fig. '1. A

One of said heat exchangers is shown in Fig. 2 1 positioned at the upperpart of the casing and having an inlet hot water or steam pipe 3lconnected with the bottom of header 26 to an outlet steam or hot waterpipe 3l connected with the 40 bottom of header 2l, these hot water orsteam pipes going to the customary boiler (not shown) in the basement ofthe building. Immediately below the upper heat exchanger -is a blowerchamber 32 `which will be hereinafter described. 45

' And below said blower chamber is a group of dleheader 2'lthroughconnection Il totheupper header 21 and from upper header 21 across tothe upper header 2B and therethrough opening I6 and discharge pipe 21back to the compressor in the basement. Steam or hot water pipes 3l andIl and the cool fluid return pipe 21 and water pipe 3l all pass downwardthrough a chamber 29 formedbyapartitionllspacedfromthe end wall I2 ofthe casing, as clearlyshown in Fig. 4.

The pipe 21 has'a'horizontal'portion 4I overlying the iin plates 2l ofthe air cooling heat ex. changer. An automatic valve 42 controlled by asolenoid in circuit with the motor of the blowers hereinafter to bedescribed, admits water to pipe 31 and its extension 4I when the blowersare in operation for heating the room. The water is delivered upon theiin plates 2l and ilows down.- wardly along the surfaces of said 1inplates where it is impinged by the upward movement of air andv takes up.suiilcient water eiiectively to humidifythe air of the room and ofother rooms of the house.

ordinarily the numidiner wm be used only in connection with the heatingmeans when the blowers are set to move the air upwardly and discharge itfromthe upper opening. In this manner, because of the large amount ofwet surface contacted by the moving air, the air will reach the blowerssubstantially saturated. But it will be the cooler airof theroomandwillhavebeen further cooled by that evaporation to a point wellbelow room temperature, so, as it is immediatelv thereafter heated, itcannot overhumidify the higher temperature air oi' the room, but willordinarily supply just enough moisture to keep the air at the higherroom temperature just sufiiciently and never too greatly, humidifled.'I'here may be times, however, when, owing to excessive dryness of theair, during severe cold spells, for example, it may be desirable tosupply `a greater amount of moisture to the air, and in "such cases theblowers may be reversed, thus the summertime when the cooling heatexchanger is normally in operation, periodically toblow hotairoverthecoolingheatexchangersuriaces to drythemand prevent formationof slimes crothe'r growths which mightte'ndtoclogthese andtokeeptheclean' 2 The air moving arrangement comprises a motor Il and centrifugalblowers M, 4l at the sides of said motor, in the blower chamber 32. Asbest shownin Figs. 4 and 5, this blower-arrangement is mounted within arotatable drum havingfront and rear walls and I'I and a trans-'- versepartition 48, all being secured upon a centra] shaft It held in thejournal il at the side of the casingand adaptedtoberotatedbyahandle 5I.The dischargeoftheblowersnandil extends though'the transverse partitionIl, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of my device will be readily undexstood from the fdescription. When in the position shown in Fig. 2, the blowers willdrawairthrough lowerregister Il andthecasing below,whichwillpassthroughtheilnsof the cooling heat exchangers takingupmoisture fromthe wateriilms thereon and be driven through the iins 2|.ot the heatingheat exchanger and dischargetheairwarmlndmoistthroughthe upperregisterIl. Whenitisdesiredtousethe device for cooling, the air-moving means isrotated 180, when air will be drawn in through the register Il, passdownwardly through the cooling heat exchangers and discharge into theroom through the lower register il, being cooled on the s way.. Thewater which is condensed from this air on the cold fin plates 28 willgravitate to the bottom and discharge from thesystem through the pipeI2, and any excess water used4 in humidifying will iind exit by the samemeans.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoingdescription. 'I'he device is easily installed in houses wherein steam orhot water heating appliances are available and already in use. When thesame has been installed, l5 it will be entirely invisible, except at theregister openings at top and bottom. It will operate to deliver warmmoist air in winter or cold weather, at the top, taking into the systemthe cold air at theV bottom, and in summer or in hot weather, 0 it willoperate to deliver cold dry air at the bottom and take in the hot humidair at the top.

It is cheap to construct, and hence within the means of the ordinaryhouseholder.

One advantage of the use of this construction 2li is that in dwellinghouses an air conditioner may be placed in each of several rooms, as aliving room and a bed room, and be connected to compressor mechanism inthe basement by separate leads so that a compressor need be employedonly 30 large enough to operate one heat exchanger but may be connectedalternatively to either the living room heat exchanger or the bedroomheat exchanger to cool the one in the day-time and the other at night. Afurther advantage of the air conditioner resides in its use inconditioning the air in oiilces of large oilice buildings or in therooms of apartments in apartment buildings. Separate air conditionersembodying the principles of my invention may be applied to each 40oiilce or each group of oiiices, or each room or apartment, and theheating unit supplied with steam from the usual central system and thecooling unit supplied with heat-transferring compressed gases from alarge central compressor unit in a manner similar to the distributingand heating medium from a large central heating unit.

I claim:

' l. An `air conditioner comprising a casing adapted to be positionedinthe wall of a room between studding and having top and bottomopenings, means in said casing for heating air, means in said'casing forcooling air, and means in the casing for moving air adjustably to causethe air to enter the casing at the bottom and discharge from the topwhen the heating means is in operation, and to enter the casing at thetop and discharge from the bottom when the cooling means is inoperation.

2. An air conditioner comprising a casing having upper and loweropenings, means at the top of the casing for heating air, means at thebottom of the casing for cooling air, a blower between said means, andmeans for positioning the blower to discharge air upwardly through saidheating means and out of the upper opening or downwardly through saidcooling means and out of the lower openings.

3. An air conditioner comprising a casing adapted to be positioned inthe wall of the room between studding and having top and bottomopenings, means in said casing for heating air, means in said casing forcooling air, and means in the casing for moving air through'said coolingmeans and said heating means, and means associated with the coolingmeans for humidiiying the air as it is moved therethrough when theheating means is operative to heat the air.

4. Anr air conditioner comprising an elongated vertical casing havingopenings close to the i'ioor and to the ceiling respectively of a room,two sets oi heat exchangers therein, means to cause one of said sets togive oil heat, means to cause the other set to absorb heat, and means inthe casing to move air in opposite directions in said casing forrespective delivery through one of said openings of heated air or ofcooled air.

5. An air conditioner comprising an elongated casing, two sets oi heatexchangers therein, each embodying a multiplicity oi.' vertical ilnplates, means to cause vone of said sets to give oi! heat, means tocause the other set to absorb heat, and means to wet the surfaces of thecooling iins when the heating fins are in operation.

6. An air conditioner comprising a casing having contiguous spacedparallel vertical walls, a rotatable table therein between said walls, ablower` mounted on said table for moving air l through the casing, meansto rotate the table arid means in the casing for conditioning the airmoved by the blower.

8. An air conditioner, comprising a casing forming a vertical elongatedduct adapted to be positioned in the wall of a room between studding andhaving top and bottom openings near the ceiling and iloor, respectively,means in said casing for heating air, means. in said casing for coolingair, and a blower in said casing adjustable to cause the air to movethrough the casing and enter and discharge from the openings in onedirection when the heating means is in operation and to move through thecasing and enter and discharge from the openings in an oppositedirection when the cooling means is in operation.

9. An air conditioner, comprising an elongated casing having top andbottom openings, a heating heat exchanger and a cooling heat exchangerin said casing, means to cause water. to flow down 5 over the exposedsurfaces of the cooling heat exchanger to make it serve as a humidifierwhen the heating heat exchanger is operative, and means located abovethe cooling heat exchanger to move tlsle air.

l0. An air conditioner, comprising a casing having openings at the ends,cooling and heating heat exchangers in said casing, means to cause waterto ilow overfthe exposedsurfaces oi the cooling heat exchanger to makeit serve as a humidiier when the heating heat exchanger is operative,and means between the heat exchangers to move the air.

11. An air conditioner, comprising an elon- 'gated casing havingopenings at or near its ends, go

a heating heat exchanger located towards one end thereof, a cooling heatexchanger located towards the other end and having a wall thereof spacedfrom a wall of the casing, and inlet and outlet pipes for the heatingheat exchanger entering the casing at said last-named end and extendingalong in thevspace between said walls.

12. An air conditioner comprising an elongated casing, means in thecasing for heating air, a multiplicity of spaced plates forming acorresponding number ofparallel passageways extending within the casing,means to move the air to be subject to said heating means and to passthrough said passageways, and means to wet the surfaces oi said plateswhile said air is 85 moved.

13. An air-conditioner comprising a casing forming a vertical elongatedduct having upper and lower openings, a blower mounted .wholly withinthe casing having an air outlet extending longitudinally of said duct tomove the air therethrough, means to shift the position of the blower todirect movement of the air either up or down in said casing to dischargeeither through the upper or lower openings thereinto, and means in thecasing for conditioning the air as it is moved.

FRANK A. WHITELEY.

